Kenya-Libya ties need more than oiling

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"Apart from trading blocs, the other way of increasing trade among countries is through bilateral ties. Each African Union member belongs to at least a trading bloc or a grouping that seeks to promote cross-border exchange of goods and services. Many such outfits always have problems and bilateral ties have in the past come in handy to save collapsing blocs.



A good example is the East African Community, which collapsed in 1977 but was revived in the late 1990’s after bilateral ties between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda solidified, making its leaders to see the sense of working as one. This is the context in which we see the new-found love between Kenya and Libya.


This is a good development. While Libya has had a fair share of international relations problems with the West, such as the 1987 Lockerbie bombing that locked it in a drawn-out spat with the US for years, working with other African countries to boost trade is the best thing that a country with high oil resources can do.


Kenya appears to be among the countries set to benefit from trade with Libya, which could provide a new market for its tea and coffee and cushion it from the volatile international markets and retaliatory partners like Pakistan. The latter always threatens Kenya with freezing tea imports if it imposes restrictions on its rice, as it did in early 2005 when the East African Community Customs Union came into force.

This nascent relationship with Libya should be nurtured to maturity, as the north African country has promised to boost investments in East Africa’s oil industry, through Tamoil Africa. Already, reports indicate that the oil company has won a $300 million (Kshs21 billion) tender to upgrade the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd, which supplies Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi with refined oil products - barely a week after Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki held talks with Muammar Kadaffi in Tripoli.


Tamoil has been increasing its presence in East Africa through acquisition of ExxonMobil’s service stations as well as supply distribution facilities. With such determination, Kenya is right to lure Tripoli to its side, as this could guarantee cheaper oil and thus reduce energy costs for producers.


Africa has substantial oil reserves, with Nigeria producing nearly 4 per cent of global supplies. Exploration efforts are ongoing in other African countries and the prospects look great. Collaboration between the oil producers and non-producers will help the continent move forward and have a bigger say in world economic matters."


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